ISO 9001 is sometimes referred to as the...

Why should you have a quality management system according to ISO 9001?

Win tenders and get new customers! Requirements for quality management systems according to ISO 9001 are found, for example, in public tenders. The chance of winning a public tender increases significantly if you have a quality certification or a quality management system.

Many companies also consider a quality management system and quality certification according to ISO 9001 as a hygiene factor when hiring a supplier.

Increase profitability! By introducing and working according to a quality management system ISO 9001, you not only get a structured way of working, but you also get tools to:

Prevent complaints through documented quality controls.
Report and address internal and external deficiencies (deviations), with the aim that they should not occur again.
Monitor customer satisfaction and the efficiency of processes.
Together, these aspects contribute to reducing the company\'s quality deficiencies and increasing customer satisfaction, thus improving profitability.

Get better organization and structure! A quality management system also means that you get better organization and structure, as it becomes clearer who is responsible for what. You can also gain increased control over:

inspections, maintenance, and servicing of equipment
staff qualifications and skills
and more.

A quality management system includes that the daily work should be managed to:

meet the requirements that stakeholders place on the company
prevent risks from a quality and business perspective.
To ensure that the daily work functions as intended, support is needed in the form of:

quality policy and quality objectives
responsibilities and powers distributed within the organization
competent employees
well-functioning communication, both internally and externally
deviation management to capture internal and external deficiencies
monitoring customer satisfaction and key performance indicators for processes
management review - a meeting where company management evaluates how the quality work is progressing and, if necessary, makes decisions to address deficiencies.

Common mistakes when implementing ISO 9001 certification in your company or organization as a management system include:

Starting from the structure of the standard - instead, start from the flow in your company, then your quality management system will be built according to your company.
Describing how you want to work and not how you work.
Becoming too detailed - Remember that what you commit to doing in the management system must be shown that you are doing! Be detailed only where there is a serious quality risk or stakeholder requirement.
Trying to do everything at once - See it as renovating a house, one room (process) at a time. Otherwise, you will never be done!
Being time optimists and thinking you will be able to introduce it in parallel with regular work.

How can we help?
Our HSE and ISO consultants can help with:

Conducting a GAP analysis to identify any deficiencies in the company\'s existing quality management system.
Developing and implementing a quality management system according to ISO 9001.
Supporting daily quality work.
Conducting internal audits.
Training the company\'s internal auditors on audit methodology or the company management on their responsibilities in quality work.

How does the certification process work?
Certification is carried out by an accredited certification body and the certification process takes place in two stages.

Stage 1
The first certification stage usually focuses on documentation and management responsibility in the management system. In other words, stakeholder analysis, risk and opportunity analysis, quality policy, quality objectives, deviation management, supplier assessment and evaluation, work with internal audits, distribution of responsibilities and powers, skills development, management review, etc. will be reviewed. The aim of the review is to ensure that there is a quality management system in place that is good enough (i.e. meets the requirements of ISO 9001) to obtain a certificate.

Stage 2
In the second certification stage, the certification auditor will review whether the quality management system is implemented in daily work, i.e. that daily work follows the routines in the management system and meets the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.

Where the certification auditor detects deficiencies in the management system or in daily work, deviations are recorded. Deviations from stage 1 must be corrected before the stage 2 audit, and deviations from stage 2 must be corrected, and the corrective actions must then be approved by the auditor before you can receive the certificate.

Thereafter, the certification body will conduct audits on the company at least annually. The frequency depends on, among other things, the size of the company.

What happens after ISO 9001 certification?
Many people tend to relax after receiving their ISO 9001 certification, but that\'s when the real quality work begins, i.e. you must continue to follow the procedures described in your quality management system. In addition, the certification company will